Inside the Asylum
by Saniah
Summary: I finally snapped, I guess. I finally have escaped. But to where? Everyone on the outside calls it an Asylum. It's where those the world can not contain go. And It's the only place I have left. [SasuNaru][Rated M for later chapters][AU][Alernate universe]
1. part I

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: SaniahMain Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: This story takes place in an Alternate universe. It's kind of like Naruto world, and our world had a love child, or something.

* * *

There wasn't much going through my head at this point. Mostly 'just keep running'. I know, I know, they were right. Everyone who ever said I was a coward was right. But I can't help that, can I? But that's not why I'm running this time. All that waits for me back there is complication. Where I'm heading promises… my only chance… 

I killed him. But I can't think about that, it'll slow me down. Just focus on the ground… The sharp rocks poking at my bare feet, the cold air stinging my face, the dark night smothering my vision. I was gasping, not even realizing how long I'd been running. I couldn't stop, not now. This was escape, and if I stopped, all the doubt in my mind would take over, and I wouldn't make it.

I barely noticed how hard I was breathing when I finally arrived at the bus stop. It took a few moments to stop gasping enough to buy the ticket. But even then, my heart was pounding, its pulse resounding constantly throughout my body. I started at the ticket now clenched in my hand. Don't think, just continue. I still couldn't think, not now. Not until you get there. Only focus on calming your heart…

But how could I? Just a few hours ago it was racing like it is now… When I finally escaped… When I finally killed him and broke free. Yes, I was finally free of his grasp, but only when I didn't think. It'd be twenty long minutes before the bus left, and I couldn't think. I couldn't remember… I had to push it out of my head.

But who would have thought that there could be so much blood? The last time there was such blood… no. Don't think…

The seats of the decrepit old bus were no where near comfortable, but they'd do. The springs poking at my hips took my mind away from thoughts, and to my physical assets. It would be a couple of hours before I arrived to Konoha, and it'd be better if I just slept now… But no… Sleep would bring dreams, and all my subconscious could talk about was the blood…

_Blood…so…red. It was everywhere… splattered over his body… painted on the walls…ceiling…floor… everywhere! Just everywhere…_

I shook my head, trying to forget. I looked at my watch, hoping time would pass faster. The blue light flashed at me 4 am. I sighed… Three hours ago… I killed my guardian… and in two hours… I would arrive in the place where I would finally disappear.

So many people thought of suicide as a horrible thing. But… to the beholder, it was their last chance. The last chance to escape… or live. In death, it was the only truth. In death, we were granted immortality, eternal youth, and no pain… But that's not why I had considered it. No, it was the… blood.

* * *

"Oi… kid. You got an umbrella?" The driver called. I stopped in my tracks, already halfway out the door. 

I shook my head, barely glancing at him. "Why?" I added, it wasn't raining, was it?

"It's been raining for the past half hour, kid. I thought you knew that." The reply was a bit more than a chuckle. "Not too observant are you?" I stared out the door, finally hearing the rapid plops of rain on cement and asphalt.

"No I guess not…" I mused, and continued on my way. Rain… It was raining. The air was humid and suffocating, the water was cold, and struck my skin, awaking my senses. Rain washed away impurities… But would it be able to help me today? Maybe…

I was walking down the abandoned streets without noticing. I just stared at the signs, hoping to find the one to point me to my destination. Every once in a while, to world around me would be illuminated by the few cars passing through. I barely noticed these blinding lights. My senses numbed again, focused only on the signs. Not on anything else that would make me think.

"Cherry bend…." I mumbled lightly, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of my short pockets. The smeared ink blurred my vision, confirming the sign in front of me. Finally I had arrived. I checked my watch; the rain clouds kept everything looking like night. The blue light flashed "7:13 am" at me. I started gasping in the humid air, again realizing how badly I needed oxygen. My senses were awakening again, though I wished them to numb.

I walked up to the large gates that surrounded the large elaborate building. I stared in the windows of the towers next to them. In one, a bored looking man sat in it. He noticed that there was someone standing at the gates and returned my gaze. He coughed lightly, before talking to me through an intercom.

"Can I help you?" His voice sounded a bit strained, tired, he probably hadn't talked much today. I nodded in return. He perked an eyebrow. "Well? What do you need?"

"To get in." I replied after a moment, and his other eyebrow followed its predecessor. I could clearly see the dark circles under his eyes. How long had he been there, I wondered.

"I'll call for a guard…" He took longer to reply, thinking about what to say. "Are you visiting someone?" He added, picking up a phone and talking into it for a while.

I shook my head in return. My heart was racing again. Gates… why did there have to be gates… I wasn't claustrophobic, but I hated knowing I couldn't leave without others permission.

The metal gates swung open lazily, and another man was waiting for me. I barely noticed him, but stepped forward anyway, gripping onto the strap of my knapsack. It contained the few items I could still call my own. The man looked over me lazily from under the umbrella he was carrying. I absently wondered why he was wearing a mask over half his face, but didn't spend too much time on it.

"So, are you going to stand out there all day, or are you coming in?" He called from his distance, holding out the umbrella in a welcoming fashion. I hadn't realized I didn't move from my place.

I turned to look at the tower man, who gazed back tiredly at me, inclining his head to tell me to go. I nodded and walked forward.

"Thank you, Hayate." The masked man called when I caught up to him. "I'll take him to Tsunade, alright?" He started walking down the brick laid path, and I had no choice but to follow.

"Yeah, yeah, Kakashi…" Hayate called in reply, waving his hand slightly as the gate closed.

* * *

An odd looking woman turned an irritated gaze at me from over a pile of papers and books. Her intense brown eyes were half-lidded, and drool was still dripping down her chin. She had obviously been sleeping before Kakashi had knocked on the door. I only met her gaze for a moment, than turned my attention to the rest of the room. It was fairly decent sized and neutral colored. On the far end of the room, the wall held nothing but shelf after shelf of books. To the right was a couch, armchair, and coffee table. And at the wall I was facing were large windows… barred. 

"Kakashi, why'd you bring him to me? If he's going to visit someone, you know the drill. I was doing important work here!" The woman I could only assume to be Tsunade questioned.

"He's not here to visit anyone." Kakashi answered in an apathetic tone. He was leaning against the wall closest to the door.

"Than what's he doing here?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Replied Kakashi shrugging. Tsunade sighed and turned her attention back to me. She perked an eyebrow slightly, probably wondering why I was soaking wet.

"So, kid. What are you doing here?" She asked, her tone had lightened, holding a gentle air to it.

"This is a mental Hospital, right?" I asked softly, and she nodded in return. "That's why I'm here." I added my reply, not looking at her, but at the books on the far wall.

"Well, please further your explanation, for I'm not getting it." She replied in a bit of an irritated tone.

"An asylum! That's what this is! That's why I'm here! Because I don't belong in life out there!" I answered, louder than I thought it needed. I was pointing out the window to the still gloomy sky. I heard Kakashi sigh, and saw Tsunade nod.

"Yes, this is an asylum, but what makes you say you can't function out there?" I tensed up slightly. I couldn't explain why, that would involve me to remember. Remember all that I had just done… all the _blood_.

"I need to disappear… And this is where that can happen…" I said softly.

"I don't need to waste my time on some slightly depressed teenager who thinks the world is out to get them, kid." She retorted coldly. "I need an actual reason." I glared up at her. How dare she make me remember… Curse her…

"The world is not out to get me. I'm messed up enough as it is, and if I can't get help, than it'll be the world that should fear me!" I yelled, my heart racing, blood boiling.

"What do you mean? You're going to go kill the world? You need to be specific!"

"HE'S DEAD!" I shrieked. "And the blood was everywhere! And I wanted it! I wanted to be the one whose blood was spilled on the walls! Those damn demons are-" I stopped my hysterical shrieks, eyes widened. Had I really just said that?

Tsunade and Kakashi were both silent. Lost in their separate thoughts about my outburst. I focused on calming down. They were laughing. It was so hard not you keep my hand from my hair. They kept whispering into my ears horrible things. Telling me what to do. Their words were getting strung through the air. The dark letters crumpled on the floor.

"Alright. What's your name, kid?" Tsunade asked, taking out a notebook and pen, beginning to write things down.

I tensed up slightly, waiting for the letters to melt and disappear. I couldn't tell her my actual name, could I? My file would turn up… my past come back… and they could find me again… No, I would not tell her. I was no longer Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sato…" I said softly. "Sato Taro."

Tsunade nodded, jotting down a few more notes. "For the moment, Kakashi, We'll put him in the Kyou ward, alright?" She asked Kakashi, before he nodded and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Well, Taro-kun, I'll show you to your stay." Kakashi said. I shrugged his hand away from me, my own covering where it had rested. I wasn't very found of people touching me. But I nodded and followed him out the room.

* * *

**a/n: **Well, I hope you all enjoyed this so far. It's kind of vague, and such, I've never written like this before. Anyways, I don't know where this is going. I just need an outlet to write with. I'm putting a lot of my emotions into it, but I'll try my hardest to make it as correct as possible, okay? I might not continue to far into it, so don't get attached to it. This is just an outlet for me to express what has been running through my head.Anyways, I Actually didn't just make up names! Sato is a common Japanese surname meaning "Home/Countryside/Village", something like that. "Taro" Means "Great Son" and is only given to the first born son. See, I just think Sasuke kind of has a thing about that. He's trying to start over, so saying he's a first born (or only child) he's cutting Itachi out of his life. 


	2. part II

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: Saniah  
_Main Pairing_: Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: I am terribly sorry that in the last chapter it is confusing whom Sasuke killed. I did not intend for it to come out that way! I feel like an idiot, and I will try to explain it soon.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that "kyou" means like… someone with mental abnormalities. Therefore, I thought it was a nice name to use for a ward…

* * *

I just stared at the room. Kakashi was standing next to me, explaining rules, regulations, and such. I just could not listen to them now; I could only stare at the room. The walls were a dull green, little faded pink flower scattered over it. The floor was covered in an off-white carpet. It had barely any furniture. A few couches here and there, there was a table in the middle, a television to the right of the room, and a fireplace on the far wall. The fireplace was not lit, and was barred.

"This is the common room, alright?" Kakashi drawled. "You'll be allowed here from 7 to 10. If you get up earlier than 7, you go to the cafeteria and eat." I nodded slightly, and continued to stare. Was this really it? I was not really staring at the room, more at the piano in the close left-hand corner.

"Why is there a piano in here?" I asked, trying to get my mind off of things. Trying to forget still.

"Oh. Because a couple of the girls like to play it." He replied, waving a hand and continued with the rules. "Speaking of which, yes, this is a co-ed ward. It is for those around your age, and of several states of mind. You are not to spend the night in any of the girls' rooms. You are assigned a room, and that's where you sleep, got it?"

I nodded again. Okay, so there would be girls here. I was never particularly found of girls, but than again, I was not particularly found of anyone…

"This board," Kakashi said, pointing to a chalkboard with various names on it. "Keeps track of room arrangements. The rooms are in alphabetical order, and there are two to a room." He paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder at me. "It also takes care of where you are. If you go outside for a walk, you sign out."

"Alright." I said, watching as he added me name to a blank space.

"So if you follow me, I'll show you to your room." Kakashi sighed, and began to walk down one of the corridors. The walls stayed the same dull color, and the floor changed to tile. The doors were painted white. I could see at the end of the hallway a large window. Like all the other ones I had seen, it was barred. Kakashi stopped in front of door that resembled all the others. There was a small chalkboard next to it, with a name scrawled onto it.

Uzamaki Naruto

"Is he really the closest to my name?" I asked. Kakashi nodded in return before writing another name on the board that I recognized as the one I had given.

Sato Taro

"Well, Taro-kun, this is your room." Kakashi said, opening the door for me.

The room was somewhat small. Its walls were the same as the hallways. There were two beds in it, both with white covers. The only other pieces of furniture were the wardrobe on the right side of the room, and the bedside-table in between the twin beds. On the bed closest to the window- barred like all the others- was a boy. He was staring up at the ceiling before he looked up.

"Naruto, you have a new roommate." Kakashi stated in an optimistic voice.

Bright blue eyes wandered from Kakashi to me. They stared only for a moment, looking me up and down. I like frown was on his features. Painfully blonde locks fell down a bit farther than his ears, and scars on his face finished off his features. However, his face was not what made me grimace.

It was his neon orange clothes.

"Oh? So who is he, Kakashi?" Naruto replied, his frown deepening when he saw my grimace.

"Sato Taro." I answered. The name sounded foreign on my lips.

"Good for you." I furrowed my eyebrows. I was not expecting normalcy from a patient at an asylum, but still…

"Be nice now, Naruto. Taro-kun is new here. Make him feel welcome." Kakashi warned.

"I can tell he's new, Kakashi." Naruto laughed, a grin spreading over his face.

"Alright, alright." Kakashi sighed and turned towards me. "Well, Taro-kun, since you're new, we'll come and check up on you every ten minutes. You can put your closes in the wardrobe. Until Tsunade determines where you go, you will stay here. You will be seeing one of our doctors tomorrow to start your therapy. Till than, have fun." He turned to walk down the hallway, waving slightly over his shoulder. "Bathrooms are down here." He called, pointing down a smaller hallway off from the common.

I stood in the hallway for a moment before entering the room. I could feel Naruto's wavering gaze caught on me. Those eyes followed me to the empty bed. I took of my knack sack, dumping its contents out on the bed. It held my clothes, a hairbrush, the remnants of my money, and a battered notebook.

"Jeez, decided to pack light, huh?" Naruto laughed, his grin spread wider over his face.

"What's it to you?" I retorted coldly. I was not in to mood to deal with him.

"An interesting topic." He countered, snatching up my notebook before I could take it. "Why are you running around with a battered old notebook?" He asked, flipping roughly through the pages.

"Stop that!" I hissed, grabbing the notebook away from him. He gave a childish pout at me. "Must you go through my things?" I glared at him in return.

"Yes."

I just glared at him as his pout turned thin and his lips parted in a smile. This person would be the downfall of me if this continued. He just oozed something… I could tell even now, barely spending ten minutes with him that he was over-enthusiastic about many things. Yes, if this continued, he would be my downfall…

The door opened and one of the attending stuck their head's in.

"Hey Asuma!" Naruto said cheerfully. "I thought that Kakashi had the morning shift today."

"Eh, Tsunade called him up." Asuma shrugged in response. He stopped himself before he fully relaxed. He frowned slightly at the blonde. "Would you stop that? You know you can't butter me up…" He mumbled something and shut the door, continuing his rounds.

Naruto burst out in a fit of laughter. I jumped slightly at the sound. It felt harsh against my ears. How could he do that? How could he show such emotion? I sighed and looked down at my watch; it was barely 8:30. I walked to the wardrobe to grab a couple of hangers, keeping my roommate in sight the whole time. When I finished packing my stuff away I took, hold the notebook, shoving it back in my knack sack.

"You want to go to the commons?" Naruto asked, jumping off his bed and heading for the door.

"I'd much rather go eat breakfast if you don't mind." I mumbled, pushing past him, trying not to touch, and into the hallway.

"I'll go with you than!" Naruto replied cheerfully, hurrying to catch up with me. I shot him a glare, but he did not notice it.

"You haven't had breakfast yet?" I asked in a monotone, suspicious that he had probably eaten already.

"Of course I have." Naruto snorted. "But you don't know your way around here, do you?" He added, skipping ahead of me a bit. I scowled at him and he laughed even more. "Than I'll show you the way."

I rolled my eyes at the hyperactive blonde and continued to follow him. We entered the common, which held about five teens in it. Two of them were sitting on the couch facing the table where a chessboard sat. One was munching on a bag of chips, the other staring at Asuma who sat across from him.

The last three sat near the television. They were girls, and it seemed two of them were arguing over what to watch. One with bright pink hair, the other with light blonde. The third girl just sat still, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey everyone!" Naruto called, waving his hand as he passed though the room. My gaze drifted to the Piano, which still sat, unused.

"Where're you off to, Naruto, uh- Taro?" Asuma called, looking up from the chess game at them.

"Taro-chan forgot to eat breakfast, so I'm showing the way." Naruto answered playfully. He put special emphasis on the suffix. I glared at the piano, refusing to encourage him.

"Alright, alright." Asuma said, waving them off.

"Oh Naruto, you're finally up?" The pink haired girl asked, leaving the television to walk up to him. The other two girls followed, but more out of curiosity of me.

"Who's this? I didn't know there was a new arrival." The blonde mused aloud.

"Shut up, Ino!" The pink haired girl snapped.

"Make me, Sakura!"

"Hey Sakura-chan, Ino, Hinata." Naruto greeted, smiling at each of them, "This is Taro-chan." He laughed, pointing over his shoulder to me. I barely nodded, not wanting to deal with Naruto, let alone over-hyped teenage girls.

"G-Good Morning, Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered softly, blushes and staring at the floor. "Taro-kun." She added, directing her gaze towards me for a moment.

"Taro, huh?" Both Ino and Sakura piped up, leaning in to look at me. _Vultures…_

I shook my head a bit, cursing the demons. They were right, Ino and Sakura both resembled vultures, but I hated the dark letters that they produced. They were like blood, tangled into the girls' hair, resting on their shoulders. _Vultures…!_

I started walking down the hallway Naruto had pointed at, hoping there would be signs to where the cafeteria was. Naruto started calling after me to wait up, hurrying to say goodbye before running up to my side.

"You know, you can be really rude!" He stated frowning at me, clearly upset I left before he had a decent conversation with the girls.

"I have time to make friends later. Right now, I'm hungry." I replied, not looking at him as he made faces at me, mocking my voice.

"But first impressions are everything!"

I did not respond, and Naruto sighed in defeat.

* * *

**a/n: **Okay, as I have said before, this is just an outlet for me to get my mind off my life. I know you still do not know whom Sasuke killed, but you will find out soon! I promise! I am just stuck at how to continue.

I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about with the whole "dark letters" thing, huh? Well, Sasuke has Demons inside him that like to poke and tease him and they piss him off, like whoa. They are voices trigger something and they are words turn to dark letters that Sasuke sees. They are not actually there, but whatever.  



	3. part III

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: Saniah  
_Main Pairing_: Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: Thanks for the support so far. I'm all for critique, people. It helps a lot. Not only in my writing, since this is so closely intertwined with my thoughts.

* * *

"So," Tsunade started. "I'm just going to start off by asking you simple questions about yourself. We'll go into more depth later." I nodded, not caring enough to look at the large breasted woman.

"Alright, Taro. Where were you born?"

I paused. I had been born in Konoha, but had spent most of my 16 years of life in other villages. But I couldn't tell her the truth. I was not Sato Taro, for all I knew- or cared, for that matter- there was no person with that name. But I couldn't be who I actually was…

"In the sound…" I answered slowly. I had lived there for quite some time. Tsunade nodded, wrote it down and continued.

"Do you have any siblings?"

_'Itachi, Itachi, Itachi, Itachi!'_ The demons cried in sing-song voices, laughing sharply in my ears, scraping his name down my arms.

"No." I started rubbing my arms, trying to get the letters off them. _Itachi, Itachi, Itachi…!_

"How old are you?"

"16." My first truth.

"Where are your parents?"

I clenched my teeth without realizing how much I had tensed. _Itachi, Itachi, Itachi…!_

"They're dead." My voice was wavering from rage.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

Then there was only the demons' laughing.

"Alright than, does your guardian know you're here?" Her voice was a bit sharper, obviously annoyed with my last comment. My fists clenched to white, and I barely felt the pain as my nail bore into my skin. I glared venom at the ground, it was white. White should be a calming color, but not to me…

"No." It was the truth, in a sense. He didn't know I was here.

Than again, what would a corpse know?

"Did you run away?" Her voice now held curiosity at my actions.

"Of course."

* * *

"How was talking with Tsunade?" A certain hyperactive-knucklehead piped up when I entered the common. I just ignored him and sat down next to the fireplace.

All of the members of the Kyou ward were in the common at the moment, so it was somewhat loud. I was never a fan of disorganized talking, but silence was worse, I guess…

Ino was staring Chouji who was devouring yet another bag of chips. A look of complete disgust held upon her features. A hyperactive boy - who I met yesterday - named lee, was explaining to Tenten how to walk on her hands. Shikamaru was lying across the couch near the table, throwing and catching again a small coin. Sitting by the window was a pale boy, whom Naruto had told me was Sai, painting something on the wall below the window sill. Hinata was sitting by the television, knees to her chest, staring at the floor. On one of the chairs next to Shikamaru, sat a red head, Gaara, playing solitaire. Naruto had lost interest in talking to me, and had joined up with Lee and Tenten. Sakura was sitting on the piano stool, staring at the sheet music on it. In the corner closest to me, Sat Kiba, petting a stuffed dog, which he named Akamaru.

"Hey, Taro! Can you walk on your hands?" Naruto called to me from across the room. Lee and Tenten stared in my direction.

"Why would it matter?"

"Well can you?" Naruto yelled. I rolled my eyes and ignored him again.

"Naruto shut up, and leave Taro alone!" Sakura shrieked, hitting the back of his head from her seat.

"Ouch… Sakura-chan, be nice…" Naruto complained lightly, earning another hit to the head.

"Fuck!" A yell came from Sai, hitting the wall. Immediately after his curse, Tenten let out a high pitched scream. I stared from Sai to Tenten; both of which had recovered from their outburst.

"Could you guys be quite?" Shikamaru called, an annoyed expression played across his features. "You're all so troublesome…"

"Yeah, you're upsetting Akamaru!" Kiba replied, covering the dog's ears.

* * *

"Where'd you get that bruise?" Tsunade asked, her gaze directed to my arm.

"Target practice." I answered. Tenten had seen the Tattoo on my neck, let out a cry and had thrown her shoe at me. I had moved, so it didn't hit my neck, but my arm. Tsunade smiled slightly and nodded, obviously knowing what I was talking about. "I'm guessing Tenten has a thing about Tattoos?" Tsunade shrugged, and I realized that she more than likely couldn't talk about it.

"How are you doing with the others?" She asked in an amused tone.

"Fine." I answered. They were all crazy, what else could I say? _'You're in an asylum, smartass!'_ It wasn't the demons that had yelled that at me, but Sai when I had mused the thought to myself. Naruto later informed me he had Tourettes.

"I hear you're roomed with Uzumaki Naruto, am I right?"

"You're the head of this place, you should be right."

"Well, how is it affecting you? Do you like him?" She asked.

I shook my head. "He's an annoying, hyperactive, idiot. There's nothing to like about him." I replied, frowning. Why was she making me talk about him? Tsunade just laughed slightly.

"There's plenty to like about him, you just have to look harder." She said, more to herself than me. I looked up at her; she was staring through me, off into space.

And for the first time in the now week I had been here, I saw her smile.

* * *

"You still awake?" Naruto asked, perching at the foot of my bed, staring at me.

"What's it to you?"

"Something important."

I glared at him through the dark, and kicked him off my bed. He always gave some kind of response like that. He sat up on the floor, rubbing his wrist, frowning up at me. His bright blue eyes seemed to stand out, even now in the dark. He adjusted his nightcap and climbed back on my bed. I went to hit him, you yell at him to get away, but he grabbed my wrist before I could do so.

"You still have the bruise." He stated staring at my arm, tenderly touching it was his forefinger. I pulled my arm away and glared at him.

"No shit, Sherlock." I mumbled turning over on my side, so my back faced him.

"She's OCD, that's why." Naruto said, not moving from his position.

"What are you talking about?"

"Tenten."

"What about her?" I asked sourly, looking at him from over my shoulder. His normal grin held a bit more of something in it. I furrowed my eyebrows at his leering grin.

"She has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder up the wazoo." He sneered. "She has perfect aim, too. She was going to become a fighter, but they couldn't deal with her. All fighters have their numbers tattooed on them, and they couldn't have her throwing things at everyone." He laughed; it was sharp and cut through the darkness.

"How do you know about that? The people who work here aren't supposed to talk about the other patients."

"You're real thick in the head, aren't you, Taro-chan?" Naruto smirked down at me. His pupils were more like slits, even in the darkness. The irises seemed almost… red.

"Go to bed, Naruto." He snapped, going to push him off my bed. Again he took firm hold my wrists, and pinned me below him. He held his face inches away from mine.

"Why should I?" He laughed. There was something wrong, and all I wanted was for him to get away from me. I started to squirm, trying to get my arms from his grasp. He just laughed more. "What's wrong, Taro-chan? Don't you want to play?"

"Get off me, Naruto!" I yelled my voice holding a bit of hysteria in it.

"Make me." I could feel his warm breathe spill over my face.

"GET OFF ME!" I shrieked, lifting my knee to his stomach, trying to pry him off me.

"No." His tone was calm, but I could hear the venom slip from his throat. Hysteria was filling me, and I could hear my heart pounding across my chest. Damn him, he was too close! But even the little space that was left between us vanished…

* * *

Tsunade was glaring at Kakashi when she opened the door. She looked about ready to yell at him about if he knew what time it was. But she caught sight of me, standing next to him, rubbing my ink-stained neck. A confused look spread over her features.

"Now, what have we here?" She asked, still looking at me.

"When I checked up on him, I found that he and Naruto were fighting. He broke Naruto's arm." Kakashi said, nudging me forward.

Tsunade frowned at me and looked back up at Kakashi. "Is that all?" She asked a bit irritated at having to deal with this.

"No." Tsunade raised her eyebrows. Kakashi nodded for me to enter the room and pulled Tsunade out, closing the door behind them

I leaned against the door, hoping to be able to hear what they were talking about. My heart was still pounding against my ribs, and its resounding pulse louder in my ears than their voices.

"The kitsune, he's pushing forth again." Kakashi's voice came hushed and jumbled through the door. I pressed my head closing. "I think he's getting worse…"

"Kakashi…" Tsunade sighed. "You know we can't do much about that…" Her voice held sadness in it, and I began to wonder what they were talking about… Kitsune…The letters were bright, and scratched through the door.

"I'm just telling you, he might not be able to stay near the others… Maybe we should-"

"Kakashi!" Tsunade interrupted. "I know you've grown attached to him, but all we can do at the moment is watch." Her voice faded, and I could here Kakashi sigh.

"Hai…"

I furrowed my eyebrows, not moving from my position, even as the door opened and the others looked down at me. Kitsune, Kitsune, Kitsune…!

* * *

**a/n: **Woo! Here's to making stuff up off my head! Look, don't get too attached to the chapters being updated so frequently. It's just to keep my mind off life. So you might get daily updates, or monthly, I don't know.

Oh, and if you didn't catch it, Orochimaru is who Sasuke killed. Just so you know.


	4. Part IV

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: SaniahMain  
_Pairing_: Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: I am sorry. I just reread my story, and I realized how much of the little errors were put in it! See, I cannot upload the original document, so I have to put it on notepad and fix that on the edit/preview thing… Therefore, I am sorry about the little errors in here, and non-italicized words.

* * *

It felt like my innards were being ripped out of me.

Today could set aflame the world I had created.

It was visitors' day.

I was always nervous every week when this day came around. Every Wednesday, family, friends, they were able to come and visit us in the Kyou ward. I had been here for a little over a month, but I still felt queasy. I expected my act to crack and fall… That he really was not dead…

"Oi, Taro, what's wrong?" I heard my roommate pipe up as he entered the common. He still held such a cheery nature with me, even though I broke his arm.

"Nothing that concerns you." I replied coldly. Naruto shrugged and continued on his way for breakfast.

* * *

"Hinata, Kiba, Gaara." Kakashi called lazily from the attending station. "You have visitors." The usual visitors showed up, and I silently let out a sigh.

Hinata had her cousin come and visit her. I think his name is Neji, or so Naruto informed me. Hinata stood up quickly when her name was called. She shyly headed over to Neji, a weak smile played over her face. Kiba only looked up when his name was called. His best friend- other than Akamaru -Shino silently walked over to him. Kiba started rambling to him about not being allowed to pet Akamaru. Kiba thought Shino gave his pup fleas.

Both Hinata and Kiba seemed relatively happy that they had visitors. Gaara, on the other hand, just looked a bit more pissed off than normal. His sister entered the room, smiling nervously at her brother. I absently wondered if they actually were related, they looked nothing alike. Gaara, with his pale skin, flaming red hair, and bright green eyes were a painful contrast to Temari's pale blonde hair, and sun kissed skin.

"Hmm, seems we missed out today, huh Taro?" Naruto asked, sitting down next to me by the unlit fireplace. I scooted away from him a bit, glancing at the cast on his right arm.

"Like it matters…" I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck where my tattoo sat.

"Well it'd be nice, don't you think?" He asked, pulling his knees to his chest. He had a kind of sad look on. "To have someone who'd still want to see you, even in a place like this?"

I stared at him out of the corner of my eye, and shook my head. No, anyone who I wanted to see… my parents… they died long ago. There was no one of the earth who I wanted to see. The world outside the iron gates of the Asylum was dead to me. Moreover, I wanted it to stay that way.

"If you still had someone, I guess." I shrugged slightly.

"Yeah. My parents." I turned to look at him; he was staring at the carpeting, smiling slightly. "Everyone says that they are awesome… But I don't even remember them."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Naruto, how long have you been here?" He looked at me and shrugged.

"I've spent most my life here, so I wouldn't know. I haven't even seen all of Konoha." He mused, smiling a bit at me. "I didn't even know I had parents till a few years ago." I frowned at him, and we both turned away from each other. This was clearly an uncomfortable conversation.

"What about you? Isn't there someone you'd like to see?"

"Same people as you."

"Oh."

There was a pregnant pause.

* * *

"Hey, Tsunade?" Tsunade looked up at me. I had not been talking much today.

"Yes, Taro?"

"Naruto," She raised an eyebrow slightly. "What happened to his parents?" I was not looking at her anymore. I could feel the tips of my ears turn warm. I gambled a chance, and looked up at her out of the corner of my eye. The buxom woman was biting her lip, looking at her notes.

"He was talking about them earlier," I explained. "And I was just curious as to why he only found out about them a couple years ago."

Still Tsunade remained quiet.

"You won't talk about it, will you?"

"I can't." She said softly, her voice betraying her now calm mask. "At least, not now."

* * *

Another week slowly passed, and the day of visits strolled around again. The same tightness filled my gut, ready to tear me apart and leave me broken. I opted for staying in my room for most the day. I did not feel too up to eating. Naruto decided to join me after a while; complaints of Sai filled the room without my attention.

"Taro, are you even listening?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed, rather annoyed.

"No." I smiled mentally to myself, I was fully able to react to my new name with the same indifference I did with the other.

"You're a jerk." He mumbled. "Oh yeah, Tsunade says I can get my cast off tomorrow, isn't that cool? No more damn itching. I think I got a pen stuck in there or something…" I tuned out his constant ranting. He was like gnat, and it was quite obnoxious. My gaze focused on his arm, waving around lazily for emphasis.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled softly, causing Naruto to stop short in his rant.

"What for?"

"For breaking your arm."

"What this?" He asked, and started to laugh. "I've had much worse before. I think Sakura gave me a concussion once…"

"I'd believe that." Naruto grinned widely.

"A broken arm? Heh, still rough as always, aren't you Naruto?" A voice came from the doorway. We both turn to the men standing near the door.

"Naruto, you have a visitor." Kakashi stated, smiling behind the cloth of his mask.

"Iruka!" Naruto yelled, jumping off the bed and running to the foreign male. "I haven't seen you in forever!" He wrapped his arm Iruka, laughing the entire time.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" Iruka laughed, rubbing Naruto's hair under his hand.

I just stared at the nostalgic scene.

"Why haven't you come to visit?" Naruto scolded. Iruka scratched his scarred nose, chuckling slightly.

"I do have others I have to take care of, Naruto. I don't always have time in my schedule to come visit."

"Who care about those snot nosed brats?"

"Naruto!"

* * *

"Who's Iruka?" I asked Kakashi later that day when I saw him. He looked up from his perverse romance novel and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you so interested?" I frowned, was I that antisocial?

"I'm just curious."

"He's an attending in another ward. He works with the younger children." Kakashi replied. "He was kind of like Naruto's father figure for a long time."

"Before Naruto found out about he had real parents?"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly, and he frowned. "Yes, before he knew about his parents." His tone was a bit harsher than usual. "But again I ask, why are you so interested, Taro?" I furrowed my eyebrows, why was everyone so difficult when I asked questions? I was not being offensive, was I?

"Because Tsunade won't tell me what happened to his parents." I replied.

"They're dead." Kakashi stated, and I felt a tug at my innards.

* * *

I have no idea where this is going, but I will try to but my idea in perspective. Yes, I am going to explain some things about Naruto's parents, so sorry for the spoilers in the next chapter(s). I am also going to explain the asylum, and introduce a few more people. However, after that, I have no idea. Therefore, hopefully, school will pull something out of my mind to put in.


	5. Part V

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: Saniah  
_Main Pairing_: Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: School has started up, so the updates will be even more erratic.

_Warning_: Naruto's parent's names!

* * *

"What?" A dead voice asked behind me. Kakashi looked over my shoulder, and I turned around. The pull at my gut worsened. The look on his face was heartbreaking.

Kakashi exhaled sharply. "Naruto-"

"What did you say?" I could tell Naruto was trying to keep emotion out of his voice, but it was not hiding the hysteria very well.

"Naruto, maybe we should go see Tsunade?" Iruka asked quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. Naruto jerked away from him.

"No I don't want to go see Tsunade!" He turned back to Kakashi. "Well?"

I could see that Kakashi regretting saying that.

"ANSWER ME!" The hysteria was rising in his voice.

"They're dead, Naruto." Kakashi answered softly.

Naruto looked as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head. He was holding his breath, but started gasping shakily for it. Iruka moved forward to comfort him. Naruto backed off away from us, shaking his head. His hands were gripping at his hair. I could only stare at the oh-so familiar scene.

"No…" His voice was shaky. "They can't be dead…" I could tell he started crying.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Kakashi said softly.

"No you're not!" He snapped, furious eyes glaring at him from behind now unruly blonde locks. "You don't give a rat's ass about me, or them!"

"Naruto, I think you should talk to Tsunade about this…" Iruka warned, moving forward, trying to intervene between Naruto and Kakashi.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Naruto shrieked, backing away into the wall. "You knew, didn't you?" Tears leaked away from his blue eyes, streaming down his scarred cheeks.

Iruka nodded solemnly, he also looked on the verge of tears. Naruto's eyes widened and he sank to his knees, letting out longs cries.

"They're not dead, they can't be…" His hands gripped his shoulder tightly, knuckles white. "YOU'RE LYING!"

"Do you think I'd lie about that, Naruto?" Kakashi accused obviously upset. "Your father was very precious to me. Do you think I'd lie to his son about his death?"

"YES! You have been! You have been for the past two years!"

Kakashi did not reply.

I was glued to the spot, staring at the annoyingly optimistic boy breakdown in front of me. "Naruto, _please_…" Iruka pleaded softly. "Calm down. We can go see Tsunade and-"

"Fuck off." Naruto's voice was sharp, his frame still shaking, and his gulps of air still violent. Iruka pulled back slightly, eyes wide. "I already told you I don't want to see that old hag!" Narrow red eyes glared up at him from the messing blonde locks. "There's nothing you ass wipes can do about it, so FUCK OFF!"

An involuntary shiver ran down my back at his voice. What was going on? Kakashi called some of the other attending over. The other patients in the common were watching the scene unfold. It felt like the air was cutting at my skin as the dark letters wrapped themselves around Naruto's feral form. _Kitsune, Kitsune, Kitsune…!_

"Kakashi…" My throat was dry and my voice shook slightly. "Is that the kitsune thing you were talking about?" Kakashi glanced sideways at me, nodding curtly.

"What, are you scared of me, Taro-_chan_?" the Kitsune mocked. His sharp red eyes glared daggers into mine as a sneer passed over his features. I never wanted to see Naruto's face scrunch up like that ever again. An Eyebrow raised, fangs barred and laughter cut through the air. I couldn't answer…

I was dead terrified.

He started walking towards me and I couldn't help clench my fists, ready for battle. Adrenaline kicked into my veins, my heart hammering against my chest. Fight or flight was all that my mind was now asking.

"Well, Taro?" The Kitsune asked, his warm breath ghosting my ear with his close proximity.

"Leave me alone." I hissed back, trying to hide the wavering in my voice. I could feel his sneer widen against my cheek. I low laugh came from his chest.

"Is that all you'll ever say to me?" I gritted my teeth, and turned to glare directly at his face. I had to choose, and I had to now.

"So what is it, Taro?"

Fight.

Without my mind's full permission, my fist connected with his jaw. I barely realized how much my knuckles hurt, as he stumbled back. A sting of curses flew from his mouth, and he rubbed his jaw. I crouched down more; He copied my motion, perfecting it far better than I could. The Kitsune's blood-red eyes stared into mine, amused. Is that all I could do, amuse him?

I had to admit, he was fast. I barely missed his claw like nails. Well, not really, he did manage to get my shirt. I tried to move away, to get in a punch, but his leg was at my stomach as the wind rushed from my lungs. I tried to regain my breath while falling over the back of the couch. I noticed how everyone in there was staring at the fight, on edge.

When I rolled over the couch I watched as the Kitsune was struggling out of Kakashi's grip. He was failing though; Kakashi still had a firm hold from behind him, holding him by the waist. The Kitsune clawed at his arms, writhing in his grip. Kakashi's struggle was lost in a moment, and the Kitsune rushed at me.

I didn't have time to react before I was again on my back, gasping for air. Only this time, the Kitsune was on top of me, the pen he had grabbed along his lunge shoved into my left shoulder. I pushed him off, while trying to grab at the pen, but the pain was fogging my mind. I cursed myself as darkness passed over my vision.

* * *

I stared up at the blurry ceiling, only focusing on taking in rasping breaths. Strings of swearwords were running through my head in time with my frantic heartbeat. Well, I guess that maybe I wasn't the greatest at focusing anymore. My mind was slipping in and out of darkness, and so many words not my own flooded my thoughts. However, I knew one thing now - or figured, really.

That thing was not Naruto. There was no way that could've been him. No, there was no way in hell that could've been him.

My throat constricted and my stomach lurched as I began to cough. I started to sit up and immediately regretted it as pain shot through my chest. Panic poked at the back of my head when I was coughing more than taking in air. What the hell just happened? I didn't hear the frantic words of the attending rushing around me, nor of Naruto's enraged words as he was being held down.

The demons, they were laughing. Their sharp laughter spilt the air in my lungs, and cut at my throat and mouth. I was gasping harder than before, desperate for air. The evidence of them was there, in my mouth. I always hated the taste of blood. Panic rushed to the front of my brain at the sight of the red mess on my chest.

_'You idiot,'_ they shrieked with laughter at my hysteria. _'It's not that difficult to see he stabbed you!'_

I hated their laughter more than the letters. They started their singsong like mockery in my head, tearing apart my sanity. _'Kitsune, Kitsune, Kitsune!'_ They sang. I clawed desperately at the letters constricting where that damn pen was in my chest. It did nothing but worsen the pain. I hadn't even noticed the tears running down my face, or the fact that I was screaming.

Yet another voice of laughter entered my ears. I looked up at Naruto. His blood red eyes stared back at me with bloodlust. That maniacal sound cut through the tethers of my conscious, and echoes in the darkness.

It sounded like the demons laughter.

* * *

I opened my eyes to darkness as my mind groggily came to life. Well, it wasn't total darkness. The moonlight sparkled around the room, making the blur of the dull paint look like ice. I shifted slightly in the bed I was laying in. I light pain hit my chest that made my breath hitched. A shiver of ice splashed over my body, and I remained.

"You might not want to move." I heard a soft voice say. I turned my head towards the window. "That pen really did a number on you, you know."

"Tsunade…" I breathed softly. She perked an eyebrow. "What was that thing?"

I saw hesitation pass over her face. Her eyes traveled to nowhere, staring into space.

"Naruto has blue eyes. That _thing's_ were like blood." Tsunade sighed.

"You were wondering about Naruto's parents, weren't you?" Tsunade mused softly, I nodded in return.

"Kakashi said they died."

"They did. Minato and Kushina died when Naruto was just a baby."

"Why didn't you tell him?" I was surprised at how soft my voice sounded.

"Because the fact that he had parents gave him hope." Her voice shook slightly, and turned to the window to hide the tears. "I couldn't bear to see his only hope of normalcy vanish…"

I thought about her answer in the silence that passed after her reply. Only every once in a while did I hear the sharp intake of breath that told me Tsunade was crying.

"You never answered my question." I stated.

"You're wrong, Taro. That was Naruto." Her voice was still wavering.

"Naruto wouldn't stab me with a pen! Now what was _that_?"

Tsunade let out a groan, rubbing at her temple. She was clearly irked at me. But she wasn't telling me something, so of course I was going to snap! Her brown eyes stared at me, betraying the damage the years had done to her for once. "That was Naruto." She said clearly. "Even if you can't accept that, it was him."

"Than explain it to me, because I'm not getting it!" I snapped.

"Taro, do you know anything about mental illnesses?" She asked suddenly.

"Not particularly."

"Well, take a look at half the people in your ward. Most of them don't need to be here, really. OCD, Bi-Polar Disorder, Anorexia, Tourettes, these are all things that are considered a form of insanity. But they're not what would be found in a mental institution patient."

My eyebrows pulled together, and my mind began to question what she was talking about. She was right, of course, but I couldn't see where this was leading.

"Even Naruto, if we were going off of what he was diagnosed with, he wouldn't have a reason to be here. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is not something that someone would be admitted with. But as you've experienced, there's something more." She turned away from me again, looking out the window into the moonlight. "To people on the outside, this is an asylum. But, it's truly a place where those the world can no longer contain go. A last resort…"

She stared at the clock across the room and got up. She walked over to the door, not looking back at me. "It's late, Taro. Get some sleep; I'll explain the rest later." She sounded so worn out, so… old. It was not like Tsunade in the slightest.

* * *

"Hey Taro?"

I looked across the room, to the bed closest to the door. He was in the shadows, and I wondered how long he had been up. I wanted to ignore him, act like I was still asleep, but I couldn't pull away from Naruto's sad blue eyes. Like always, they seemed to pierce through the darkness. I noted the leather restraints holding him down to the hospital bed.

"What do you want Naruto?" I asked warily.

His face looked so pain, almost on the verge of tears. I furrowed my eyebrows, somewhat confused as to what he was so upset about.

"Do normal people cry when their parents die? Even if they never knew each other?" His voice chocking back a sob and I felt a tug at my chest.

I shut my eyes, but his eyes still were vivid in my mind, welling with tears.

"I did…"

I lay in silence, trying to ignore the sobs Naruto was trying to hide. I wished he didn't have those restraints on him, at least then he could have the dignity to cry into a pillow.

"Hey Taro…?" His voice was weak after he stopped crying. I looked over at him, hoping not to see the tears that might be there.

"Yes, Naruto?"

His voice was soft, so deflated… Broken. "I'm sorry for stabbing you."

I stared at him only a moment longer, but it felt like hours.

* * *

**a/n: **Jeez. That made me kind of sad. Well, I hope that this is a bit better. I know I haven't been the best at writing recently. I kept cutting out so much, and I apologies for that deeply. But thank you for the support and criticism. I do enjoy both; they both help me in their out ways.

Oh and I finally thought up a plot, so let's hope it doesn't suck.  



	6. Part VI

Inside the Asylum

* * *

_Author_: Saniah  
_Main Pairing: _Sasuke/Naruto  
_Disclaimer_: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto  
_Note_: This story takes place in an Alternate universe. It is kind of like Naruto world and our world had a love child, or something.

* * *

"Hurry up, would ya?" Naruto called, laughing that tone that rung my ears.

"Hn." I continued my pace, much to my roommate's displeasure. He let out a frustrated growl, which sounded far too much like a laugh for me to take seriously. I closed my eyes, laughing silently at the situation.

I jumped slightly when I opened my eyes again to see his staring straight into me. In the light, his eyes were brilliant, but you could only truly respect their beauty at night. They were like suns, they glowed. "I said hurry up." His voice was soft but still cut through the silent corridors like a sword. His hand wrapped around my wrist and we took off.

I tried to look where we were going, but it was nearly impossible in the darkness of the Kyou ward. I stumbled and let out a curse when my feet hit carpet as we turned the corner. Naruto's laugh resounded through me as he continued to drag me along. I glared halfheartedly at his back, wondering how he of all people could have convinced me into this.

"I thought we weren't allowed in the girl's corridor at night." I hissed at him. He turned around, now running backwards, to smile at me.

"We aren't." He sounded as if he knew some scandalous secret that involved me. I hated it when he took on that tone. "But we aren't going to be staying here the entire night"

I tripped into him when he suddenly stopped, beginning to swear when his hand covered my mouth. He shot me a smile, silently telling me to trust him and shut the fuck up while I was at it. I placed my hands against the wall when his form left my impaired vision. I closed my eyes, following him from his stumbling. He let out a curse, his fist connecting with a hard surface, which made me jump.

"What?" I hissed blindly into the darkness, searching the rivers of moonlight to try to see him.

"The keys aren't there!" I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to the attending's desk to see him searching franticly over it. "They're supposed to be there…"

"Why do we need keys?" I asked, groping my way over to him.

"Stop asking questions and help me look!" His voice was wavering between amused and irritated. I stood where I was. _Yeah right._ He shot me an amused glare, and I wondered if I had said my thoughts aloud.

"Looking for something?" We both jumped at the voice and searched for its owner.

"Who's there?" Naruto called softly, scrambling off the desk, clutching at my arm for balance.

"It's just me, idiot." My eyebrows pulled together, but Naruto sighed. He obviously could see who was talking.

"Sakura-chan," He breathed softly. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura stepped forward closer to us. I could now clearly see her pale features in the moonlight, making her look rather sickly. Her bright green eyes soft, but held some sort of nervousness to them. She laughed softly, twirling a pair of keys on her fingers.

"You didn't answer my question, Naruto." Her voice was playful. I grimaced, Naruto smiled.

"Why yes, we are. Now will you answer mine?"

She made a face, as if she was thinking it over. "Maybe."

"Sakura, give us the keys." I was a tad bit surprised at how bitter my voice sounded.

Her wide eyes turned to search my face only for a moment, before she bit her lip and turned away. She held out the keys to me, and I could not help notice the odd nervousness of her posture. Naruto took the keys, thank her brightly, she smiled weakly back at him.

"Is there anything else, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked politely, his head cocked to the side in genuine curiosity.

"I'm sorry I'm being a burden." She replied softly, laughing to herself. Naruto was far too nice, in my opinion. I like Sakura for the most part, but she was always so vague about things, it got quite annoying at times.

"It's a restless night, isn't it?" I had no idea what Naruto was talking about, but Sakura nodded, oddly pink locks falling over her face.

"It's far too close." She mused. Naruto smiled, taking her hand and started into the darkness. I followed after, grabbing at his sleeve so not the stumble more than needed down the corridors.

"It's not problem Sakura-chan." I merely accepted that where ever Naruto had talked me into going, Sakura was coming too. It figured, he fancied her too much for his own good.

Again, I tripped into Naruto when he stopped suddenly. He crouched down, and through the flood of moonlight, I saw we were in front of a door. I hear the jingle of keys and the door pushed open under Naruto's palm. He nodded, holding the door up for Sakura and me. We were all laughing. I have no idea, but I could not pull my muscles back. Naruto kept trying to shush us all, but he too was failing at staying quiet.

I looked around at the room flooded with silvery light. I had not been in any of the room in the girls' corridor, but this did not look like a bedroom. My thoughts started up again through the laughing, wondering what was going on. I turned towards Naruto, silently asking where we were. He mouthed back to me "art room". I nodded, though I did not fully understand where that was.

Sakura grabbed one of the stools in the room, shoving it over to on of the walls. Naruto scrambled on top of it, and I had no idea what was going on. Why did no one find it important enough to tell me? Sakura handed a small object up to Naruto, which I guessed was a screwdriver. I jumped slightly at hearing a screw hit the ground. It had really gotten quiet.

"Okay, can I ask something?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder at me. "Sure, if you want to."

"Where in the world are we going?" Sakura started giggling, and Naruto laughed for a moment. It got somewhat irritating.

"Outside." was all Naruto saw fit to tell me. I rolled my eyes. That had not explained it when he was convincing me to join him. He did not catch my obvious displeasure and continued to work at something on the wall. I figured it was an air vent, and was right when he passed a screen down to Sakura. They exchanged it again, and Sakura climbed up into the vent.

Naruto motioned for me to follow. I gave up on asking for now, and followed suit after Sakura who was crouched close to the bottom of the vent. She motioned for me to move forward so Naruto could climb in. I heard a light clanking noise as the moonlight from the art room disappeared. Naruto's eager voice flooded my ears, resounding off the metal as he told us to move.

We crawled along the maze of metal as we had the corridors. When one slipped up, the other followed suit, laughing to ourselves. However, it was quite awkward to run into Sakura when she slipped, or have Naruto claw at the back of my shirt when he did. Soon I could see silver streams of light coming from a vent. We all went quiet as we heard the wind gush by the walls of the building. I shivered absently, it was almost summer, but the night's winds still bit at my bare arms and ankles.

"Naruto." Sakura turned around on her knees to reach over me to Naruto, who handed her the screwdriver. It took longer to work at getting this vent screen off, but after some time, Sakura scrambled to hold it in place before it took a second story plunge to the ground.

She moved it into the vent beside her, and slid past me. I didn't get in the way, but pressed myself against the wall, shivering at the touch of her skin against mine at certain times. Naruto followed, crossing over me to the front of the vent. In an agile movement that only Naruto could pull off, he grabbed onto a limb of one of the many trees that surrounded the building. He gripped his hand before swinging himself onto a nearby branch, waiting to catch his balance. He held out a hand to me.

I just stared at him, slightly confused. Sakura whispered to me to jump out, and not to worry, because Naruto was stronger than he looked. I almost laughed at that. I knew he was, he had given me one hell of a scar from a pen. I didn't like thinking about that anymore. It had taken long enough to stop staring at his arm after the cast had been taken off. Now I had to look at the scar just below my collarbone. _You're getting soft, brat._ I glared at the dark letters seeping through my skin.

I reached out to grab the branch, it seemed far too flimsy, and I absently hoped it wouldn't break. Not tonight, not even after hearing the demons' harsh voice, for some reason, I was accepting tonight. It wasn't happiness; it was nowhere near such an emotion. It was artificial, but it filled my lungs with breathe, and my head with a defense against any other emotion. I crouched, keeping my balance as best I could before pushing off into a jump.

It was almost as if the wind died at that point, I could only hear my heartbeat. It surprised me; really, I had forgotten it still beat. I inhaled sharply when my feet connected with the sturdy branch, and stumbled to grab onto Naruto's extended hand. He smiled at me, and I hung onto him only a tad bit longer than necessary before moving closer to the trunk of the tree. Naruto stayed to help Sakura down, and gripped the bark of the tree at the movement.

"Is anyone else coming?" Naruto asked as he sat down next to me.

Sakura shrugged in return, sitting down. "I don't know."

"We'll have to find out, huh?" Naruto grin from Sakura to me, I was still confused but let my lips pull in a slight smile.

* * *

I hadn't realized how nice this felt, to run again. I'd been here just over two months, and had rarely been outside. The last time I had run had been away from hell itself, but now… I guess, I liked how it felt. The air was cold, and my lungs ached from running, but I could help but laugh along with Naruto. I had been laughing so much tonight, I began to wonder if I truly did belong in an asylum.

But it just felt so wonderful. I had no idea where we were going, I could barely see 10 feet in front of me, and yet… I loved it. Naruto ran a head of me, his smile shining over his shoulder at me every now and than. Sakura was to my side, the nervousness she had earlier completely gone. She more looked… well, insane. Her mouth open to take in cold air between smiling lips, her green eyes wide with excitement. I guess I probably looked similar. We rarely got outside, and here we were, breaking so many rules, but my heart has never pounded so fast in anything that even came close to resembling happiness.

We slowed down when the fence that surrounded the asylum appeared. Naruto and I collapsed to the soft ground and I have never loved grass so much in my life. Even though my breathing came in gasps, I still laughed. Sakura was smiling at us, leaning against one of the trees, catching her breathe.

"H-Hey guys!" Naruto called hoarsely, still laughing hysterically. "We're here!" I looked up from my place on the grass to stare at the four standing by a crooked gate. I had to sit up to recognize them as Gaara, Lee, and Hinata. However, I still could not name the last of them.

"Took you long enough." Gaara sounded pissed off as usual, but Naruto just grinned at him.

"I didn't know you were going to come, Hinata." Sakura stated walking over to lean on the fence, smiling at the younger girl. Hinata's wide eyes stared at Sakura for a moment before she smiled meekly.

"Hinata asked if she could come." Lee responded, smiling at Sakura.

"Wha- Hey! Haku, I didn't know you were out of solitary!" Naruto called jumping up to run over to the last of the figures. "If I knew, I would've asked Ino for makeup."

The dark haired figure smiled. "I'm not." Replied the figure to the first comment, before making a face. "And I'm not a girl, Naruto. Stop insisting otherwise."

"Well you don't look like a guy. What with those rosy cheeks and lips of yours." Teased Naruto, Haku hit his head, warning him to be quiet.

"Is anyone else coming?" Sakura asked.

"Not that I know of. Tenten and Ino don't know, so I don't think they'll be here. Sai said he had better things to do. Shikamaru pulled an "It's too troublesome" and Chouji just hit rock bottom, again. Kiba might come, though he was talking about how restless Akamaru gets out here, so maybe not." Lee explained. "I don't know if anyone else will be out." Sakura nodded and took the keys form Naruto, working at the lock and chains that held the gate shut.

"Would you care to tell me where we're going?" I asked Naruto.

He smiled in return. "You'll see, Taro. Just trust us."

Sakura pushed the old gate open and everyone filed out. I stared at the path before us. It seemed to disappear into the forest itself, only the old stones marked the path. I looked down the moonlit bathed path, it twisted and turned. Again, my mind screamed for answer as to what was going on, but I ignored them.

"Let's go!" Lee exclaimed and Naruto, Sakura, and Haku laughed out shushes for him to quiet down.

Now, even I had to stop. I had been here for nearly two months, and thought I had seen all the weirdness, but I was wrong. Maybe it was just for some simple childish reason, but I felt like an idiot to ask, so I stayed quiet.

Lee, at the head of the line that had formed, turned to Sakura, taking her hand in his. Sakura followed, hand extended to Haku. The line followed so, all hands held, Haku to Gaara, than Hinata, than Naruto. Naruto turned to me, hand extended, smiling. I was hesitant. But, I let his hand close over mine, staring at our intertwined fingers.

"We're all good!" Naruto called and I was a bit too late to keep my balance before being jerked off my feel. I tried to regain my balance while running, which is never an easy thing to do. I wound up gripping at the back of Naruto's shirt, and looking over his shoulder to see what was going on.

If the path in still was a remarkable sight, than this was intervention from whatever God there was. The budding leaves had a blue tint to them at night, with streams of silver dripping over them like rain. They rippled around their branches in the wind, reaching for the starry sky above. Every twist and turn of the old stone path was surrounded by the tunnel of trees. The echoes of out laughter was echoing of the natural walls as we sped down stairs that were built into the hills.

It was somewhat unfortunate that I was last in line. It also added to my misfortune that Lee was the one leading the line. He was the fasted of all of us, and left us to scramble behind his sprint. I loved, and cursed, the winding paths, but all too often, I stumbled into Naruto while rounding a corner. It made a bit more sense now, why we were holding hands. It was childish, like a safety line not to get lost in the dark, but it kept us from breaking our necks, also.

The trees suddenly broke halfway down one of the flights of stairs, and a building was insight. It was old, and looked like it long ago had been conquered by the forest around it. It's broken windows gleamed dully, it looked quiet decrepit. But, it held some beauty, just like the Asylum. It held some mood of escape, of sanctuary, and in that, it was beautiful.

We slowed down to catch out breath as we neared the old building. Naruto was still laughing as he tumbled to the ground in front of me. I leaned on my knees huffing, waiting for my heart to stop mixing with Naruto's ringing laugh in my ears. I heard a loud creaking when I looked up. Gaara had opened a large metal door, rusty chains at his feet. He was the only one, other than Lee, who seemed unfazed by the run.

Naruto jumped up, pulling me along with him into the elderly building. It was too dark to see and we kept stumbling around, cursing our way through the rooms. It yelped as an unexpected stair hit my shin while Naruto dragged me all to eagerly behind him. The stairs creaked and bumped under us, and I seemed to be the only one who cared about the noise. My eyes burned a bit at the shock of light as Naruto rammed into a door at the top of the stairs and we burst into a large room.

I'm sure to any normal eyes this place looked like a broken loft. The large windows on the walls were broken, dust and debris scattered awry. The wallpaper matched that in the Kyou ward, but was darker, falling from the walls. It smelled of the cold night, and something more. It felt as if the air could choke your lungs, as if slush was everywhere. But it wasn't a bad smell, just… humid.

But, none of us had anything resembling normal eyes.

I stared in awe at the place, yes it was run down and nearly collapsing. But it still held some type of glorious architecture no longer seen. The beams holding the roof twisted and turned in crafted figures. The rafts seem to be a world of their own, a labyrinth in itself. The walls bended to nature itself. The glass spreading prisms of light everywhere. The silvery touch amplified ten fold in a kaleidoscope of colors. Not only that, but it felt… like home. If the asylum was my last hope, than this was my sanctuary, the last place of wonder completely cut off from anything.

"Jeez you guys take forever to get here." I barely gave notice to Shikamaru sitting in one of the old chairs, playing with a lighter. Kiba sat on the floor near a window, ruffling Akamaru in a loving sense.

"Wha- I thought you two weren't coming!" Naruto accused, pointing at them.

"I could say the same for you, you're so slow." Retorted Shikamaru, Naruto glared in return.

"Wasn't my fault," He muttered. "Taro was taking too long…"

"Don't blame this on me, you wouldn't tell me even where we were going!" I snapped at him. He cocked an eyebrow in return.

"Hey, would you two stop?" Sakura laughed, smiling sweetly at us. "You can fight later."

Naruto smiled in return to her and I just sighed. "So what are we doing here?"

"It's an old solitary ward that's been discontinued. I liked it here a lot more than the newer one in the Kyou ward. This one's a lot more peaceful." Haku replied, sitting down in front of one of the beams, staring at the dancing lights that played on the rafters. "It was called the samishii ward." He chuckled softly, his face looked somewhat regretful through the dim lights. "But we just call it hissori. Not even the birds disturb it anymore."

"Yeah yeah, Haku, so says you!" Kiba called from the other side of the room. "There's lots of things here! Birds, rodents, spiders, you name it!"

"You're mistaking what you hear." Haku replied politely.

"Oh don't go on about all those stupid ghosts stories again." Shikamaru complained. "They're obviously not true, and just completely troublesome."

"Well what would you know, Shikamaru, you were never in solitary!" Naruto replied, dusting off an old couch to sit on.

"But there's no such thing as ghosts."

"So says you." Haku mumbled almost inaudibly.

"My question still hasn't been answered." I stated, a bit irked.

"We're just here, we normally don't have a reason." Hinata explained softly, barely looking at me while she sat down. "It's more a feeling…"

"The Kyou ward is suffocating." Gaara finished. It was rare for him to talk, and his voice still sent shivers up my spine, though I blamed it on the wind. "None of us came here willingly, like you."

I furrowed my eyebrows when silence fell over the room. I knew that it was more than likely true, but they all seemed so at ease most the time. It's hard to explain when you realize you've grown used to putting on a mask, and even harder when you've gotten to know the masks of others. But I found a chair and sat down, no longer questioning why we were there. I knew the feeling of restlessness all too well. Where you feel like you need to get out, to run, and to do something. It's a terrible feeling, and hissori seemed just to ease it away. It truly was a sanctuary.

* * *

"God… I'm so bored!" Naruto exclaimed from his newfound position on the couch. "There's nothing to do!"

"There's plenty to do, you just don't think." Shikamaru retorted, I chuckled. 'Dobe.'

"Fine then Einstein, like what?"

"Games."

Naruto looked like he was going to murder Shikamaru, and I couldn't help but le tout another chuckle.

"Like what?!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Goodness, you really are empty headed, huh?" Naruto growled in reply to the taunt.

"What about truth or dare?" Sakura piped up, curious green eyes seem to rest on me, searching for some form of approval.

"That game's boring! We need something exciting!" Kiba replied.

"If you even suggest spin the bottle…" Haku warned, glaring at Kiba.

"We only have two girls, and no bottle." Gaara stated in his monotonous voice that could kill small children. "That game is out of the question."

"Duck Duck Goose?" Naruto asked.

"What?" Shikamaru made a face and most in the room, including me, turned to Naruto. "That's a child's game!"

"So?" Naruto looked somewhat defeated, but still puffed out his chest defensively.

"We're teenagers!" Lee exclaimed, he had been unnaturally quiet.

"Hey, I'm eighteen, I'm legal!" Haku puffed.

"Does age really matter? I was just suggesting a game.." The blush on his cheeks looked out of place with his pose.

"Children's games are for kids, Naruto." Kiba snorted. The rest voiced their opinions, saying Naruto needed to grow up, that those games weren't fun. I cocked an eyebrow at Hinata who was biting her bottom lip. She only glanced back at me, seeming to try to say something. It was obvious she wanted to defend Naruto, but she was so freaking shy.

I stood up, sighing and shaking my head. I started walking around the room, one hand shoved into my pocket until I reach the person closest to me. I pressed my hand lightly against Sakura's head, muttering only loud enough clearly to tell the others to shut up.

"Duck."

I felt everyone's eyes turn to me as I continued onto Haku following the same action as with Sakura. "Duck." Naruto's started laughing, making my face feel hot. He of all the ones here shouldn't be laughing, I was doing this for him. My hand rested shortly on Shikamaru's head. I gave him a look that told him just to comply. "Duck."

Everyone started to for a bit of a circle as I continued my slow walk. I waited until they were all seated, except for Gaara who just watched from his seat, to continue. I placed my hand lightly in the messy chaos of Naruto's hair, pressing down slightly. His bright eyes stared up at me, one pale eyebrow raised. The look questioned my cool exterior, and I wanted to wipe that ghost of a smirk off his face.

"Goose."

Immediately he shot up reaching to grab at me as I easily moved out of range, beginning my circle around the rest. Everyone seemed to get back into laughing. Even Hinata let out small squeaks that resembled laughs. Naruto's eyes followed me soon turning into glares as I easily moved out of his reach. I just smirked at his attempts, it really was quite amusing to seem him struggle over such a little thing. Or more so, just to tease him, to see that look of distaste cross over his whiskered face. He came close to grabbing my leg as a sat down into his spot between Shikamaru and Kiba. He let out a frustrated growl and started off, slapping the back of my head. "Duck."

The game continued as such, one after another were it, running around. After sometime, Kiba and Naruto decided to start to make the game a bit more interesting. While people were running around, they began to try to trip them. This was a bit more interesting, but Naruto kept trying to trip me, even if I was just walking.

The night continued as the games changed from child's game to child's game until several started to sit out with Gaara, and soon falling asleep. Than we were all sprawled out on the floor, staring at the dancing lights among the rafters. Only Shikamaru, Gaara, Naruto, and I were still awake. Shikamaru had headed back after a while, and Gaara started on a walk, claiming that hissori was too dull. That let Naruto and I awake, side-by-side, slowly drifting to sleep.

My eyes kept drooping and a comfortable silence of my mind came over. I barely listened to the wind dancing through the room. Occasionally Sakura, who had curled up on my left, would turn in her sleep and soon correct herself. I slowly moved my gaze to Naruto when he started to laugh and couldn't help but let a ghost of a smile pass over my lips. He was as obviously close to sleep as I was, and followed my movement, giggling at me.

"What are you laughing at, Dobe?"

"Duck." He giggled even more, ignoring my comment. I couldn't help but shake my head.

Naruto pulled himself closer to me and I was somewhat thankful for the warmth. It felt wonderful to lay there next to him. I shut my eyes, reading to go under into dreaming. I let the rhythm of his breath on my shoulder set my breathing.

"Taro." He said sleepily and I looked at him, too tired to raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Happy you came?" He groggily opened his eyes.

"Hn." I turned my head to the ceiling again and Naruto shifted next to me. I barely felt his lips press against my cheek. I did not push him away, but let him kiss me. He pulled away after a short moment, lying back down.

"Goodnight."

* * *

**a/n: **Gosh, that was long. Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. I really did not intend for this chapter to be so long… Well it was inspired by restless nights and Imogen Heap's "Goodnight and Go". Please Review. I love to hear your critique. 


	7. Part VII

Inside the Asylum

* * *

Author: Saniah  
Main Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto  
Disclaimer: Naruto © Kishimoto  
Note: I thrive on reviews. Help me build my skill of writing, and review. At least enjoy.

* * *

"Did you paint your nails?" I looked up at Tsunade's question, tapping my fingers against my knees. I glanced down at my hands, and how pale they seemed compared to the dark color that cover my nails.

"No." It was true. I did not paint my nails. However, that did not mean they were not painted.

A light eyebrow raised in a bemused expression on Tsunade's features. "Well than, is that marker?"

"No. I said I didn't paint my nails." I retorted.

"Really, than who did, the only ones, who paint their nails, as far as I know, are Ino and Haku. But you haven't met him, so Ino must have-" She started to trail off before I interrupted.

"First off; Haku only has painted nails because Naruto thinks he looks far too feminine, so he paints them. Second, Naruto painted my nails. And lastly; is this really an appropriate conversation for a psychiatric conference?"

Tsunade grinned a bit at me, I looked to the clock ticking away, hoping the seconds would go faster. "Naruto painted them?" She chuckled out. I nodded in return, wishing my face would stop feeling so warm. "Wait… You've met Haku?" I nodded again.

"From, as you called it, my 'midnight rampage'." She had chewed all us out for leaving the building at night. By 'us' I mean everyone but Gaara, Haku, and Shikamaru.

"Ah." She started to jot down notes, and I absently wondered what she noted about me.

"What does having my nails painted have to do with anything?"

"It tells me about how you react to your peers." She answered in a rather bored tone, barely looking up at me.

"What would that have to do with me being here?" I asked coldly.  
"You came here on your own terms, Taro." She replied through gritted teeth. "There are no police reports, doctors' notes, or school records to go off of. Sorry if it's taking me a bit to get to find out what's wrong with you."

"Hey, you're the professional here. You should be able to figure out what is wrong with me. If I could, I'd have already fixed it." I replied. It felt like my blood was boiling. It was now almost mid-summer and she had still barely answered any of my questions.

"You don't answer my questions; you don't respond to me, all I have to go off is your odd behavior outside my office and Naruto's rantings." She retorted bitterly. "If you don't open up, I can't help you."

"You don't answer my questions either." I stated, and took to glaring her straight on. I felt like I could not breathe under her critical gaze, as if she could break me in a moment's notice.

"What do you want to know?" She finally asked; but the way that smirk fell across her lips made it seem more like a challenge than an offer. I just glared in return.

I opened my mouth to speak, but a knock came from the door, and my eyes shot to the clock. Apparently, the session had ended. Tsunade called out, and Kakashi entered the room.

"Oi, you're late, Kakashi." Tsunade barked at him; he always was late.

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama." He grinned sheepishly under his mask.

"Not even going to attempt a lame excuse?" Tsunade asked bitterly.

"Why should, he? He was probably just reading his stupid romance novels." I muttered, standing up to leave.

"Of course he was, but those excuses of his can get quite original." Tsunade joked, waving us off with no further comment.

For once, I actually cursed Kakashi's bad timing. However, I knew if Tsunade would not answer my questions, Naruto would.

* * *

I opened the door to my room, barely looking up. My mind was drifting in and out of focus. The day had been passing by too slowly and I regretted not having something to do. I wish I could have run to hissori or anywhere really. Not only that, but I could not find Naruto for most the day. When I did see him, he was in some argument with Sai that sounded too idiotic for my tastes.

"UGH! It's too damn hot out!" Naruto complained from his bed. He lay on his back, bare chest moving in rhythm with his breath, glaring pathetically at the ceiling.

"Are you crazy? The air conditioning is on and everything." I muttered, flopping down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling as well.

"Yeah right." He scoffed. "It feels like I'm dying! Just wait, in the morning I'll be a crisp, is so much like an oven in here!" He flung his legs around, kicking his bedding off.

"Would you stop being such a baby, it's not that bad." He just stuck his tongue out in return.

"So says you, you have nice cold sheets, mine feel like they just got out of the dryer!" With that, he proceeded to jump onto my bed, lying beside me.

I kicked his ribs in return, pushing him away. "Well, if you come over here, than they won't be cool, now would they?" Naruto glared up at me from his position on the floor.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" He sneered, pulling me off the bed and onto the floor in a mass of tangled limbs and sheets. He dragged me closer to him, smirking as he locked his arms around my back.

"Get off me, Dobe!" I yelled, trying to pry his arms off me. "Damn it, you're too hot!" I tried to turn around in his grasp, but he pinned me beneath him.

"Ha. Now you know how I feel, Teme!" He laughed, and I brought my knee to his stomach again trying to pry him away.

"Get off!" He grabbed his wrists behind the small of my back, pulling me merely centimeter away from him.

"Why should I?" He grinned mischievously, and I glared in return.

Than that, noise drifted to my ears. That blessed noise that would save me. The door handle clicked and opened on evening checks. I turned my head across the carpet to look at the door, and my heart sank. Why tonight, of all nights, did Kakashi have to be on check duty? His eyebrow rose in amusement at the sight, and I wanted to scream.

"Should I come back later?" His voice seethed amused innuendos.

"You would anyway, smart one." I snapped at him; I could feel my cheeks flush fiercely.

"God, Kakashi, you sure know how to ruin a moment." Naruto whined, rolling off me as I turned my face to him in horror at his comment.

Kakashi chuckled, turning to leave. "Not the first time I've been told that."

"I bet." Naruto laughed, crawling up onto my bed to grin at me from above.

"Death, pain, suffering, your innards strung around this damn place. That is the fate you deserve!" I hissed venomously at him when the door shut, and the lights turned off.

"Ah, and such a deserving one. Sure to make the headlines." He chuckled, rolling onto his back.

"Get off my bed."

"But it's comfortable!"

"I don't fucking care, it's my bed, get off." Naruto rolled his eyes, giving me a half smirk.

"It's big enough for two. Besides, mine always looks so lonely with just one." He replied softly, squirming around in the bedding to make room. My eyebrows pulled together in frustration.

"What is with you?" His bright eyes shot open at my harsh tone. "What's with everyone here? You are all such immature brats! You go around playing such childish acts, claiming simple solution, one-sentence answers, for complicated question! I'm sick and tired of it, and I wish you would just grow up!"

Naruto sat up, glaring at me in return, and I felt a flicker against my anger at that look. "You seem to forget, Taro that you're the only one who willingly came here." My breath caught in my throat at the venom in his cold voice. "You had a childhood. I have been here as long as I can remember! We act this way because we have not grown up! We were denied our childhood. You might find what I say, or do, as childish, but it's the only thing relatively close to normal I can do!" He stood up, fists shaking at his sides as he stomped over to his bed, pushing past me.

"HA!" I was somewhat surprised at the odd sound that escaped my lips. "My childhood was ripped away from me, but you don't see me pulling childish phrases! You might have been here all your life, but I was not! I came here to try and get back to normalcy, but how can I do that with idiotic children roaming around?"

"Listen, Taro, I don't give a shit at what some pampered little bastard like you thinks having their childhood ripped away-" His voice was lost under my interruption.

"My brother massacred my entire family!" I shot daggers at him, wishing to pin his organs to the walls, to have his blood spilled across the room. "I was seven! Everyone close to me died, because my brother was trying to prove that he was strong. You never knew your family, so how would you even know what it feels like to loose someone precious to you?"

"You're right on that, bastard. I've never had anyone precious to me." His voice seethed loathing and hatred, desperation, even. Shit.

"Look, I didn't mean-"

"No, you did mean it."

And just like that, silence fell and it seemed like the world was between us. I just stared at him; lost in the swirling depth of his eyes. My breath caught in my throat, my mind rushed, and my stomach curled. I never liked getting into fights with Naruto, but something about him always seemed to rub me the wrong way. No, it was not something, it was everything.

The way his overly blonde locks rushed in every direction, yet he said I never combed my hair! How his lips curled into a smirk at me when he got cocky. How he insisted on always wearing that eyesore of a neon jacket. How shrill his voice was, seeming to cut through the air and grind the inside of my ears. My fists curled at just the idea of Naruto. I just ached to punch his face into a wall.

"So what if I did? What're you going to do about it?" I challenged, knowing Naruto could never refuse a challenge.

Sharp eyes turned to me, and I still could not ignore how they seemed to glow in the dark. His glare seemed to peel back me, staring straight at my core, and I hated the vulnerable feeling I got from it. Even with his eyes glowering at me, he looked utterly exhausted.

"I'm not going to fight you, Taro." My eyes widened, and I froze. "Not now…"

"God, would you just make up your mind already? Are you mad at me or not?" I yelled after regaining my composure.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed as hell." He chuckled weakly, shaking his head. "It's just too damn hot in here."

"…" I just stared at him as he flopped into his sheets, groaning again about the heat.

God he pisses me off.

* * *

I opened my eyes to stare at the ceiling. I curse the sun and it's light passing through barred windows. How dare it wake me up. I curled up a bit more in my sheets, turning to the side to find a more comfortable position. It's not that I hated mornings, I just like sleeping better. Too bad even my safe haven of dreams kept getting interrupted. I let my eyes rest, focusing on the sounds my breathing, or the faint thudding of my heart beat. But I knew I couldn't lay here forever; that mostly due to my stomach's protesting. I let my eyes open and adjust to the light.

…

Oh Shit.

Naruto has always, since I came here, ticked me off. He somehow sparked something inside me I can never name. He is just something that will always make my fists clench. He will always have some effect on me. The only thing I can think of that would describe what runs through my body upon being with him would be loathing.

Upon saying that, why the hell is my mind racing like this?

He's laying there in his bed, sleeping like always. Now I just want to punch him even more. He complains all the time, about everything. His world of complaints lately have revolved around the heat. Normally, the blonde just complains, and never does anything about it. I curse who ever pounded it into his skull that he needs to take action on his complaints.

I like women. That is a common fact for males. I was born with the natural instinct to like women. Yes, my future was sure to be one with children. Passing on the genes… fulfilling half of the most important things every living thing must do. (Eat and Reproduce) Yes, there was no way I could even consider liking men.

That being said, why is my heart stuttering in my chest. My head full of everything, but nothing? How come I couldn't fathom any one person having so much skin? Just seeing His face so serene, his limbs spread in awkward positions made my throat clench. Oh why did he have to pick to sleep half naked?

I turned away from that sight. Shutting my eyes, I could still see how Naruto's skin shined lightly in the golden sunrise streaming through the windows. I tried to wrap my mind around why I felt such a reaction. It was disgust. Yes, that's it was disgust. But I decided not to ask Naruto about what this place was. It obviously had something in the water. Yes, disgust and chemicals. I felt nothing towards that idiot. I like women.

Right?

* * *

a/n: sorry it's so late. I didn't mean for it to be so terribly late! 


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